Prosecutor General Aishath Biham on Sunday filed at the Supreme Court to revise former President Mohamed Nasheed's conviction to 13 years in jail on terrorism charges.
In a statement, the PG Office explained that it had received multiple requests to look into issues regarding Nasheed's verdict and, thus, the office decided to file at the top court.
This development came in the wake of a resolution submitted by 49 lawmakers to the parliament last Wednesday, calling for PG Bisham to request the Supreme Court to annul Nasheed's conviction. The resolution claimed that Nasheed was sentenced in violation of the Constitution and international pacts.
Following the submission, the Criminal Court has thrown out the other terrorism charge levied against Nasheed over the arbitrary arrest of incumbent President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom and Jumhooree Party's founder Qasim Ibrahim during Nasheed's regime.
While the PG has requested the apex court to revise Nasheed's terrorism conviction, the former president is set to return to Maldives coming Thursday. His supporters have expressed concerns that Nasheed might be arrested on arrival as his sentence still stands.
The Criminal Court had passed the 13-year jail sentence on Nasheed in 2015, over the arbitrary detention of the court's then Chief Judge Abdulla Mohamed during Nasheed's presidency. While the verdict was upheld by the High Court and Supreme Court, the United Nations (UN) Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has also deemed that the sentence was passed unconstitutionally and called for Nasheed's immediate release.
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